Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

When you use Veteran Tools, you may provide us with:

• Account Information: Name, email address, and password when you create an account
• Military Service Information: Branch of service, service dates, duty stations, MOS/rating, and discharge status
• Medical Information: Conditions, symptoms, diagnoses, treatment history, and medical records you choose to upload
• Documents: DD-214, medical records, service records, and other documents you upload for processing
• Statement Content: Information you provide when generating personal statements or buddy letters
• Communications: Messages you send to us for support or feedback

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, and actions taken within the application
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, and device identifiers
• Log Data: IP address, access times, and referring URLs
• Cookies: Session cookies for authentication and preferences (see Section 7)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and maintain our services, including document processing and statement generation
• Process your documents using AI-powered extraction and analysis
• Generate personalized statements and letters based on your input
• Calculate disability ratings and provide claim guidance
• Send you service-related communications and updates
• Respond to your support requests and inquiries
• Improve and optimize our services and user experience
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security issues
• Comply with legal obligations

3. We Do Not Sell Your Data

4. Sensitive Information Handling

Important: Do not upload documents containing Social Security Numbers or financial account information unless absolutely necessary. We recommend redacting such information before upload when possible.

5. Information Sharing and Third-Party Services

We may share your information only in these limited circumstances:

5.1 Service Providers

We use the following categories of third-party services to operate our platform:

• AI Processing: OpenAI services for document analysis and content generation. OpenAI's Privacy Policy
• Cloud Hosting: Railway for application hosting, managed databases, and S3-compatible document storage. Railway's Privacy Policy
• Payment Processing: Stripe for secure payment handling (for paid features). We do not store your full credit card information. Stripe's Privacy Policy
• Abuse Prevention: Cloudflare Turnstile may receive an opaque verification token and network information, including an IP address, when enabled on a form. Cloudflare's Privacy Policy
• Analytics: We use first-party funnel analytics stored in our application database to understand whether veterans complete the free tools. These records contain an event name, tool name, campaign tags, referring hostname, page path, bot/internal-test flags, and a hashed random session identifier. They do not contain form answers, statement text, names, phone numbers, email addresses, or IP addresses.
• Email Services: Transactional email providers for account notifications and communications

5.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

5.3 Business Transfers

If Veteran Tools is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred. We will notify you of any such change and any choices you may have.

5.4 With Your Consent

We may share your information in other ways if you explicitly consent to such sharing.

6. Your Rights and Data Deletion

You also have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Restriction: Request that we limit how we use your data
• Objection: Object to certain types of processing
• Opt-Out of Marketing: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time via the link in any email or by contacting us

7. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and security
• Preference Cookies: Remember your settings and preferences
• Analytics: Understand aggregate use of the free tools using privacy-minimized first-party events

Campaign tags are retained in browser session storage so a completed tool can be attributed to the referring partner. You can control cookies and session storage through your browser settings. Disabling essential storage may prevent some features from working.

7.1 Do Not Track Signals

Our Service does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" (DNT) browser signals. However, we do not track users across third-party websites and do not use your data for targeted advertising. You can opt out of analytics tracking by contacting us.

8. Data Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the service, including:

• HTTPS for browser connections
• Application-level encryption for sensitive fields where implemented
• Authentication and role-based controls for non-public functions
• Security maintenance and monitoring

However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Data Breach Notification

If a security incident triggers a legal notification duty, we will provide notices to affected people and authorities as required by applicable law.

10. Data Retention

Retention depends on the feature and why the information is needed:

• Free-tool generated drafts are held temporarily in application memory and are not written to the account database by those public flows.
• Account and uploaded-document data may remain while an account is active or while needed to provide a requested service.
• Privacy-minimized funnel events may be retained for aggregate product measurement.
• Information may be retained where necessary for security, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, or legal obligations.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

Your California Rights

• Right to Know: You can request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, purposes, and third parties with whom we share it.
• Right to Delete: You can request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
• Right to Correct: You can request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: We do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. No opt-out is necessary.
• Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Information: You can limit the use of sensitive personal information to what is necessary for the services.
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

Categories of Information Collected

In the preceding 12 months, we have collected:

• Identifiers (name, email, IP address)
• Personal information under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) (name, address, phone)
• Protected classifications (veteran status, disability information you provide)
• Internet activity (usage data, browsing history within our Service)
• Professional information (military service history)
• Sensitive personal information (health information you provide)

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@veterantools.com with the subject line "California Privacy Request." We will verify your identity before processing your request. You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf.

12. Children's Privacy

Veteran Tools is not intended for use by individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately at privacy@veterantools.com.

13. International Users

Veteran Tools is operated in the United States and intended primarily for U.S. veterans. If you are accessing our services from outside the U.S., please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

By using our Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting a prominent notice on our website
• Sending you an email notification
• Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy

Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.